Ob-la-di, ob-la-da: Tribute to go on and on

Thursday

Columbus songwriter Joe Peppercorn will have far more than a hard day's night.

Columbus songwriter Joe Peppercorn will have far more than a hard day’s night.

This afternoon in the rock club Kobo, the 31-year-old musician will start performing the complete catalog of the Beatles — every album, every lyric and every B-side rarity, all in chronological order.

The effort — with 214 tunes, including three German renditions of their hits, spread across about nine hours — will mark the second annual marathon for the classically trained pianist and guitar player, who has rehearsed the material since June.

Backing musicians will bolster the rough-edged undertaking, which its creator said wouldn’t mimic that of a campy Beatles tribute band.

“I want to leave a lot to chance,” said Peppercorn, a Grandview Heights resident. “It’s a spontaneous thing.

“This music really does have something special that brings people together.”

Like many other young Beatlemaniacs, Peppercorn was introduced to the foursome through his parents’ record collection.

The native of Upper Arlington then amassed a Beatles catalog during his adolescence.

A few years ago, he performed a well-received rundown of the iconic White Album during an open-mic session at what was then the Treehouse bar.

“I said: ‘I know 50 Beatles songs. I bet I can do every single one,’??” Peppercorn recalled. “ The next day, I sat down and realized what I’d told everyone I was going to do.”

He achieved the goal two weeks later — and, despite technical problems and the physical drain, he enjoyed the experience so much that a revival of the marathon seemed a given.

In advance of the show, Peppercorn offered his take on a few Beatles favorites:

She Loves You, 1963: “Structurally, the song starts out with a chorus. You don’t get any better than a song that gets to the hook right away. Then there’s this gorgeous melody. It’s two minutes — a perfect pop single.

“I have a 2-year-old. He can latch onto the song, that catchy chorus.

“The lyrics aren’t necessarily saying a lot, but these little phrases pop out. I still don’t know what the song’s supposed to be about.”

I’m a Loser , 1964: “It’s got a country-folk edge to it — this plea, this yearning for companionship. They’re the most famous musicians in the world, and it’s not whiny, and it’s not about being the archetypical rock star.

“The way the melody works, it sort of transcends all that. You can totally relate to it.

“For someone in that position to be writing .?.?. (those emotions), it’s beautiful.”

The Word , 1965: “This was a song that never jumped out at me until I started playing it. It’s got this generic kind of lyric: ‘Say the word / .?.?. The word is love.’

“On paper, that might sound kind of dated. But the arranging is impeccable. There’s this nasty guitar lick in the verse — so exciting and visceral, a punk song mixed with R&B.

“The band was progressing their sound but not getting too indulgent. This is one album (Rubber Soul) we had to rehearse quite a bit.”

I’m Only Sleeping , 1966: “I’ve had sleeping problems all my life. That’s why I got into this racket (of playing music) in the first place. It was like John Lennon was reading my mail.

“I was always attracted to weirdos, but I never considered the Beatles weirdos. I didn’t know music could be like this. It’s a dreamlike song in its sounds.

“ Revolver was this huge turning point, the record I fell in love with. There’s this mystery even still.”

A Day in the Life , 1967: “This is everyone’s favorite Beatles song — mine, too.

“That song is describing the newspaper. It really gets the beauty of celebrating everyday life. But there’s a dichotomy: If you really get life and are joyful, there’s this pang of sadness.

“Lennon does things with the notes you might miss, the subtleties — just gorgeous.

“Everybody who writes hopes to one day write a song like this.”

Hey Bulldog , 1969: “It’s just the coolest rock song. Whenever I start playing that piano riff, I get goose bumps.

“It’s one of those tunes that, anytime I start to feel tired practicing for this, I think about playing this song and I get really excited.

“I don’t know what that song’s about — sheepdogs standing in the rain. It might be gibberish or this huge meaning I’m totally missing. I have so much fun rocking on that song; I’d rather get caught up in the excitement and not know.”

kjoy@dispatch.com

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